Easy To Say, Hard To Admit
by TheSilverWisp
Summary: He said that she had no appeal; it was a lie.


Disclaimer: _I do not own Fairy Tail. It belongs to **Hiro Mashima.**_

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_Easy to Say, Hard to Admit_

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Before he was pissed off about getting his jaw almost broken by her slap, (how was it even possible to get his jaw almost broken by a slap anyway? A small hand hitting his cheek. Gajeel would've liked to know, but Pantherlily just shrugged) he had told her bluntly and flatly, with no gentleness in his tone at all, or any tact for that matter, that it was a fact not an opinion that Levy McGarden had no ounce of appeal.

Then again, he thought of that to _every _woman. He didn't even fancy busty women like that Heartfilia kid or Mirajane (mostly because he spends every night mentally wetting his bed when he thinks about her). So that midget would surely understand him, right? Wrong.

It ended up with an almost broken jaw, and resulted into cracking his knuckles when Jet and Droy were beginning to annoy the crap out of him with their cussings while she just stood there doing nothing.

Heck, what annoyed the Iron Dragon Slayer the most, was that she just turned to leave.

Well, it's not like Gajeel would've cared either way, everyone in Fairy Tail annoyed him (with the exclusion of Mirajane, since she was a very very dark woman), but Gajeel would have preferred it if the pipsqueak at least said _something _to him.

He didn't feel guilty, in fact, Gajeel didn't miss the way her annoying, soft, silky hair (Gajeel jotted down that he should hit himself later for thinking that) brushing against his muscular shoulder when she flounced in the guild to talk to him. He was glad that her stupidly huge, blinking, round, innocent, _adorable _greenish brown eyes weren't twinkling at him with excitement anymore, and newly shot him resented looks from time to time.

And most of all, most of all! He was glad that they did not spend anytime together anymore.

He had relayed all this to Pantherlily when Team Shadow Gear was doing a mission that particular day, and he felt so glad. So glad he had let it all out!

"Am I really that bad at lying?" Gajeel quietly asked over the corner of his mouth to the black Exceed.

"Yes."

Well, he'd be damned. He wasn't going so hard of his way to be haughty about it. He just said what had to be said.

"Why don't you just apologize to her?" Pantherlily reasoned.

"What? And get another part of my body almost destroyed?" he rolled his eyes.

Why were woman so complicated? Everything about them just had to scream about their stupid feelings, whining, and annoying him. Levy was different though, he had to admit. She didn't twirl her dress to get his attention, and he already had eyes on her even if she didn't, and she didn't twirl her hair and bat her eyes like a flirt. Levy was normal. Average. She just talked about what she wanted to talk. Outspoken, and Gajeel liked that part of her. A lot.

He slapped a hand over his forehead. Maybe not talking to the pipsqueak was affecting him with what he was thinking right now. Damn. Maybe he had to apologize, but... Gajeel wasn't exactly well known for apologizing. It was usually beating people up, scaring people out of their wits, and the rest of the list can go on involving threats, dark auras...

So he asked Lucy for help.

Why Lucy?

Because talking to Mira was troubling when the Iron Dragon Slayer had no other choice but to look at her bright blue, _evil _orbs.

"Well," the blonde began, putting a finger on her cheek. "I think you should apologize right on the spot. _With sincerity._"

Gajeel almost stumbled on his chair. What nonsense was she spewing from her mouth? "Are you kidding me? In front of everyone?"

"It would show Levy that you really are sorry." Lucy shot back and her brows twitched upward as if he would dare argue, her hands proudly placed on her hips.

Which he didn't do, because he felt his power draining from him as if it was getting pulled on relentlessly.

Okay, fine, maybe it was tiring and not so fun because she didn't talk to him anymore. But was he required to apologize?

Yes... even if that meant that he'll be made fun of when he wasn't around in the guild. No one would actually be stupid to make fun of him face to face or within earshot though, Gajeel was going to make sure they knew that he could skewer them and turn them into barbeque if he wanted to.

But he did have to admit that he _did _miss her, he _was _sorry for being a jerk, and that he _had _to make a public apology. In front of his guild members.

So, while Gajeel was in the stage of hesitation of choosing yes or no, can or can't, will or won't, the doors flung open, and announced that her arrival was back, along with her annoying partners.

"Can't I just tell her sorry in private?" Gajeel whispered with a tinge of little panic in his tone.

With a small glance, he saw that Levy, Jet, and Droy were sitting in their usual seats in the beer hall, and he knew that he had little time. It was now or never, and he actually wanted to do this quickly so that his hidden nervous state and wreck would vanish without a trace.

Lucy's eyes were becoming steely. "No. Do you want to let her forgive you or not?" she crossed her arms warily.

Well... he had went to the apology stage, but he didn't actually plan for the letting-her-forgive-me bit. Did he want her to forgive him? More importantly, would she really accept an apology from him? Gajeel didn't know, and part of him was saying yes, while the other urged for him to go and find out.

Unknown to him, though, his worst nightmare was listening to every single bit of the conversation as she busily wiped the already clean plates, her silvery tresses swaying.

"You'll never know unless you try, right?" she leaned forward and said softly to Gajeel, who was within earshot, and heck, it was enough for him to jump on the ceiling and just stay there.

"Uhh..." He was stammering. When did he stammer like a moron anyway? That wasn't how Dragon Slayers were. They were manly, tough, and they could take on anything. Well, maybe Wendy was an exception. After all, she was only twelve.

Mirajane smirked as Natsu came up to Lucy.

"Hey, Lucy, let's go on a mission!" he cheered, with his Exceed flapping his wings gently behind him.

"What? No!" came Lucy's retort. She hinted at Gajeel and Levy. "Can't you see I'm busy?"

Since density was Natsu's thing, he scratched his head, with no idea what she was talking about. "Huh?"

Lucy and Gajeel inwardly face palmed. Was it really that he was _that _dense?

Gajeel was a dragonslayer and he could read the atmosphere of other people properly.

For example, Juvia's weird advances that had to compose of stalking and following Gray was something Bisca and Alzack wanted to follow. Minus the stalker part. The thing was, it was chemistry. Biscan and Alzack like each other. End of story.

But, that made him think. So what did it mean when Gajeel felt a tingly sensation spread through his chest whenever the pipsqueak would go up to him? Actually send shivers down his spine when Levy would brush against him? Annoying him hugely when Jet and Droy were fighting over her?

He couldn't actually be... no. That was too hard to imagine.

It was probably just because she was only one of the few people, and the second female (with Juvia the first, because of their previous affiliation in the Phantom Lord) who had probably interacted with him on a daily basis.

Yes, that was it. He could acknowledge their relationship as comrades, so no one would get the wrong idea when he would go on one knee and apologize to his comrade. Hopefully.

He didn't have time to reconsider what his thoughts just gathered, because before he knew it, Mirajane had dragged him directly in front of Levy's table.

Jet and Droy shot him surprised and perhaps bewildered expressions. Levy was sitting there like a statue, but he couldn't read her thoughts.

Was she happy? Mad? Annoyed? Embarrassed because everyone in the guild had turned their attention towards them when Mirajane had plopped him on the ground with a huge _thud!_ and his hiney hurt a lot and was throbbing?

"Gajeel has an announcement to make everyone!" Mira chirped, which sparked interest in everyone's eyes.

"Bet on it, does he, or doesn't?" came Cana's voice, who was arranging a bet for this.

This was exactly why he didn't want to do it in public. He didn't want chaos to unfold _now. _Especially now.

"No way!" said Jet and Droy in unison and slammed their desired amount of money on a small woven basket Cana had laid out.

Everyone else began to make their bids, but Levy just continued to sit in her seat. Not moving, not doing anything. It was like she wasn't even moving, and that was creeping him out.

"Listen," he began, catching the eye of several onlookers once more. "A-and, you better listen good, because I'm only saying this once," Levy's eyes perked up, and she finally bore her eyes unto his for the last few days since they fell out.

His back was being watched, actually, every part of him was being watched as he knelt on one knee with his head bent down. He breathed deeply. This was it. He couldn't slip up.

"I'm sorry. You _do..._" his voice trailed off, mostly because bile was rising in his throat, but he went on when Lucy and Mira shot him sharp looks. "have appeal. A lot of it. And I'm sorry for what I said to you."

Some cheered, mostly the girls, but Jet and Droy, who were mad that their two hundred jewels were being wasted which contradicted Cana's triumphant smile as she gathered her money.

The only person who wasn't making a move was Levy, and her eyes were still firmly placed on Gajeel's stature.

He was probably sweating with anxiety. _Come on, darn it! At least say something...anything!_

"Then prove it."

Gajeel looked up for the first time, his muscles tensing from not moving for quite a while.

Excitement rippled through the audience, with girls excitedly whispering to one another, while poor Natsu had no idea what was going on, much to Lucy's annoyance.

"Prove that I am attractive." Levy said more sternly and loftily, earning some shock from the ladies. Her arms were crossed and her brows were furrowed as she focused on him with such intensity that it could've sent him sprawling in the hall.

Gajeel had no time to think, though, because everyone was pressuring him.

"Well, get on with it, Metal Boy!"

"Yeah! You go, Levy!"

"Levy-chan, don't do this to us!"

"Hurry! Hurry! Hurry!"

So, as his instincts had followed, he went with his gut feeling. He loomed over to her, his built much bigger, rougher than her slender figure, and leaned in close.

"Are you sure you won't regret this?" he asked.

"No," she smirked.

And with that, an unexpected action surprised them all.

Gajeel just kissed Levy.

Which caused Jet and Droy to animatedly dissolve like dust and blow into the wind while Mirajane just smiled.

The thing was, Gajeel was lying to himself. He _did _find Levy attractive, and he _absolutely _liked her. Apparently, so did she, because she didn't refrain.

He pulled her back, and saw that her face was beet red.

He smiled. And that meant it was good news. Because Gajeel rarely smiled. And she was smiling at him too, which meant that everything was good.

This was just the start though.

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**A/N: **I've always supported GaLe, so I've decided to make a one-shot about it.

The ending seems cliffy though, so I'm not sure if I'll turn it into a multi-chapter, but I've already got my hands full on my other multi-chapter fanfic, so I'm not so sure.

Other than that, I hoped you enjoyed reading this. And remember, feedback is welcomed. Flames are disregarded. :)


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